Brewers Director of New Media Caitlin Moyer gives Brewers fans an inside look at the Milwaukee Brewers and what's going on at One Brewers Way.

February 2014

Earlier today, Hank the Brewers’ #BallparkPup made a new friend – Melanie Iglesias, co-host of “Off the Bat from the MLB Fan Cave,” the new weekly series on MTV2 devoted to baseball and pop culture that will premiere in April.

“I think I’m in love!” Melanie said, echoing the sentiment of many Brewer fans who have been enraptured by the puppy, as she played with Hank in the lawn seating area at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix, Arizona.

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-Cait

JohnandCait@brewers.com

About “Off the Bat”

“Off the Bat from the MLB Fan Cave” is a weekly, 30-minute series with a 30 episode order that will be hosted from the MLB Fan Cave in New York City by hip hop icons Sway and Fat Joe, as well as “Girl Code” and “Guy Code” stars Chris Distefano and Melanie Iglesias.

The series launches a multi-year, cross-platform programming partnership between MLB and MTV – previously announced in November- that will bring fans inside the intersection of pop culture and baseball. MLB players will share their love for pop culture and entertainment, while fans will gain behind-the-scenes access to the biggest stars in baseball. Additionally, famous fans of the game will be stopping by the MLB Fan Cave to chat with series hosts and interact with players.

2013 World Series MVP David Ortiz of the Red Sox is serving as an Executive Producer of the series throughout the season and other MLB players have signed on to serve as Executive Producers of individual episodes.

The first bobblehead of the 2014 season will come on the last home game in April, Sunday April 27, as the Brewers take on the Chicago Cubs. The bobble will feature Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez!

This will be the second Brewers bobblehead featuring Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez and this bobblehead will commemorate his Gold Glove Award in 2013.

Individual tickets go on sale this Saturday, March 1 at 9am during the Brewers Arctic Tailgate event. However, if you’d like to secure your tickets for this game early, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@Brewers) to get the link and password for our special #BrewersEarlyBird Twitter presale tomorrow, Friday, February 28 from noon-5pm CT.

Everyone’s got to get in shape for the season. While the players work out and practice, the mascots are hard at work getting ready for Opening Day, too. Bernie goes sliding at a local playground, and the Klement’s Famous Racing Sausages run time trials.

So far, Hank’s been joining the team in the Clubhouse, taking part in practice and posing for the “puparazzi” of media and Brewers fans who can’t wait to get their photos taken with him (see gallery below).

But it was another big day in camp for Hank as he trained with the Sausages, making his debut in the Klement’s Sausage Race.

If a photo is worth 1,000 words, this video is priceless. Brewers players and coaches also shared their comments as well:

Oh, and of course, there’s a gif:

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Stay tuned for more updates on the #BallparkPup and #CactusCrew this Spring–games start tomorrow!

Each year when I travel down to Arizona for Spring Training, one of my favorite things to do is to check out all of the fun apparel and merchandise sold in the Brewers Team Store at Maryvale.

Because the Spring Training logo changes from year to year as does the style, there’s always lots of new and fresh items in fun colors. You can also pick up non-Spring Training Brewers gear at the store, so it’s also fun to get a sneak peek of the 2014 line of Brewers apparel.

In this post, I’m going to focus on Brewers Spring Training gear for women. I’ll have subsequent posts previewing the Spring Training gear for men, the non-Spring Training gear for both men and women, kids and baby apparel and other fun items available in the shop.

Here is a gallery of all of the Women’s Spring Training Tees, Tanks & Pullovers:

Ever wondered what a 90+ mph fastball looks like from the point of view of a Major League catcher? We were curious, too. So today, we strapped a GoPro camera to the chest of Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy during batting practice as Kyle Lohse took the hill.

Jonathan Lucroy straps on a GoPro camera before BP.

Check back in a bit and we’ll have some awesome footage to share!

UPDATE: Here’s a quick glimpse of some of the footage we got today (in slo-mo):

It was a busy day at Maryvale Baseball Camp with medical meetings where players listened to presentations from team doctors and nutritionists while representatives from Majestic were also on hand to measure players for uniforms. Mixed in with all of that was photo day!

Photo day is always busy from a media relations perspective as we coordinate the photographers who come in to shoot headshots and posed shots of players while at the same time, ensure all the players go through the stations to get the proper photos taken. It is an early morning and a long morning, but everything went pretty smoothly this morning and we have some great behind the scenes photos to share.

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Photos were taken by media outlets like the Associated Press and USA Today along with the Brewers team photographer Scott Paulus and Topps baseball cards.

In addition, we had fun using the Twitter Mirror, a special Twitter app used by events like the Oscars and the GRAMMYs, which transforms an ordinary iPad into a special selfie station.

We overheard players say “That was my favorite station” and “How much does that cost? I want one of those,” so we think they had fun… but of course, we’ve also got pictures (and a video) to prove it:

This Saturday, February 22, Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) is holding select team tryouts at Wisconsin Lutheran High School (330 N. Glenview Avenue, Milwaukee) from 5-7 pm. The tryouts are for 13U, 14U, 15U, 16U & 18U (May 1 is cutoff date for ages) teams and it is FREE to tryout.

RBI is a Major League Baseball youth outreach program designed to: Increase participation and interest in baseball and softball among underserved youth, encourage academic participation and achievement, increase the number of talented athletes prepared to play in college and minor leagues, promote greater inclusion of minorities into the mainstream of the game, and teach the value of teamwork.

And, in the last 24 hours, Hank has become a dog in demand! He spent the morning in the Clubhouse and has conducted multiple TV interviews over the course of the day.

Here are some more photos from earlier today (How fitting is it that it’s “National Love Your Pet Day“?):

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He also took to the field for practice with his mentor, Yovani Gallardo:

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Also, many of you are asking what is going to happen to Hank after Spring Training. Rest assured, Hank’s days as a stray are over, one way or another and he’ll continue to be well taken care of.

For more “#BallparkPup”dates, follow the hashtag #BallparkPup on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. In addition, for more from Brewers Spring Training in Phoenix, Arizona, be sure to follow the hashtag #CactusCrew.

Fans suffering from mild peanut allergies again have an option at Miller Park as the 2014 peanut-controlled areas and dates will go on sale Monday, March 3. These games include Friday, April 25 vs. the Cubs; Friday, May 30 vs. the Cubs; Friday, June 13 vs. the Reds; Monday, July 21 vs. the Reds; Tuesday, August 19 vs. the Blue Jays and Friday, September 26 vs. the Cubs.

Beginning on Monday, March 3 at 9 a.m., registration for tickets in the peanut-controlled area for these dates will open at Brewers.com/peanutcontrolled. Space is limited to accommodate approximately 100 people in this area for each of these six games.

The peanut-controlled area seating will be in Club Outfield sections 306 and 307. Ticket prices are $42 per ticket plus applicable service fees; limit six tickets per order. A Brewers sales representative will be in contact to complete the order.

Tickets will need to be picked up at Will Call, and all fans in the area will be required to sign a waiver.

Move over, Brat, Polish, Italian, Hot Dog and Chorizo—there’s a new Top Dog in town.

We’re not sure where he came from, but a little stray pup is quickly becoming not just the Brewers unofficial Spring Training mascot, but a valued member of the team.

The pooch, who has since been named Hank (after who else but Hank Aaron?), wandered into Brewers camp two days ago looking a little grubby but ready for play. In no time, this little dog has stolen more hearts than Tommy Harper stole bases in 1969.

A staff member took Hank to the vet where he received his shots and a bath, but this little scrapper’s jersey will never be spotless. His white uniform looks to be permanently shaded a little on the gray side in places, but when you get to know this little fella’s personality, you see it’s a perfect fit.

Hank spends each day roaming offices and playing fields, visiting with everyone from Doug Melvin, Ron Roenicke, players and coaches to ticket office and concessions staff. Hank is going home with members of the organization each night to a warm bed, and he recently completed a day at the Team Store where he picked out his favorite styles from the latest Brewers pet gear.

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So, what’s the next chapter? Stay tuned. Hank is in good hands and we’ll keep you posted on our most devoted “tail”-gater in the coming days.

For more updates from Brewers Spring Training in Phoenix, Arizona, be sure to follow the #CactusCrew hashtag on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

2/20/14 “#BallparkPup”date:

After our posts yesterday, Hank has become a dog in demand! He spent the morning in the Clubhouse and did three TV interviews. He also took to the field for practice with his mentor, Yovani Gallardo.

Also, many of you are asking what is going to happen to Hank after Spring Training. Rest assured, Hank’s days as a stray are over, one way or another and he’ll continue to be well taken care of.

Here are some more photos from earlier today (How fitting is it that it’s “National Love Your Pet Day“?):

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